Nickels: I have confidence in Seattle DOT brass

Laying down asphalt used to be the route to reelection for a municipal politician, but Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is broadening the path by celebrating new bicycle lanes and installation of sidewalks.

At a photo op near Franklin High School on Wednesday, Nickels voiced confidence in management at the Seattle Dept. of Transportation, despite public anger over snow removal and recently erupting controversy over complaints of discrimination in the street maintenance division.

Nickels added, however, that he has assigned Deputy Mayor Tim Ceis to clean up the mess in street maintenance.

“I have an accountability agreement with the director of transportation (Grace Crunican),” said Nickels.

Nickels was celebrating $159 million spent on transportation upgrades under the city’s nine-year “Bridging the Gap” property tax special levy, passed by Seattle voters in 2006.

“We wanted to get people moving in a different way,” said Nickels.

The $365 million levy – which will cost the owner of a $400,000 home about $1,395 over the life of the levy – was the largest in city history. But Nickels indicated that it won’t be enough. The levy expires in 2015.

“We may well have to go back to the voters,” Nickels said.

During the first two years of “Bridging the Gap”, said the mayor, the Seattle DOT
has paved more than 68 lane-miles of road, striped 57 lane-miles of bike lanes, replaced 17,135 regulatory signs, replaced street name signs at 2,119 intersections, and planted 1,064 new street trees.

Hizzoner contrasted the pace of work with what the city had been doing “when I became mayor.”

All told, the city maintains 1,500 lane-miles of arterial streets, 150 bridges, 22 miles of retaining walls, 1,000 traffic signals, 120,000 street signs, 2,000 miles of sidewalks and 30,000 trees.

The target for this year is to repave 20 lane-miles of streets. It is lower but, noted Nickels, “We are getting into streets in worst condition.”

The city also aims to build 25 more blocks of sidewalks, and to plant 800 more street trees. During the past two years, 28 blocks of new sidewalks have been built, and 38 blocks repaired.

Sidewalks being built near Franklin High School will be used by students walking to school, as well as passengers headed for a nearby station on the Sound Transit light rail route.

The goal is to make Seattle “the most walkable city in the nation,” Nickels added.

In downtown Seattle, however, pedestrians frequently confront sidewalks that are blocked by construction projects, or being used to store materials. The sidewalk closures often have no detour and force walkers into the street.

Nickels defended the city’s approach to the blocking of sidewalks.

“We have a street use policy that contains strong incentives to get in, get it done and get out,” said the mayor. If contractors continue to block sidewalks, “The charges go up.”

As well, Nickels pointed out, economic hard times have slowed the pace of construction in downtown Seattle, and pedestrians can expect to find fewer blocked streets.

Nickels is a student of Chicago politics, where public works have for years been deployed to political advantage by Mayors Richard J. Daley (1955-76) and son Richard M. Daley (1987-present).

The elder Daley was famous for informing agency heads and contractors working on high-profile city projects: “It will be good for the people if it could be completed by November.”

Nickels is working up a similar theme as he seeks a third term as Seattle’s mayor.

“We are paving streets, building sidewalks and bike paths,” he said yesterday. “We are making it easier to move around the city.”